Earthlink wanted me to do what I already had done. Absolutely useless. I think they have a big problem, but will not admit it.
What gets me is that I can access Earthlink via the same telephone number from long distance and I can get into the Internet [web pages].
Theoretically, I should not be abel to do that if they [my Mom and Sis] can’t do it.
I agree that Earthlink's tech support is pretty useless. I start my conversation with them by, "May I speak with your supervisor please?" The first line people are dummies and their English leaves a lot to be desired.
I have had the same problem as you; able to access via LD but not locally. I attributed that to a local telco problem.
In all fairness, I've used Earthlink for years and they have been pretty reliable.